Taco Soup-- With Beans Of Course!

This was a recipe I tried last week... it's DELICIOUS! I'm sure it would be a lot more appropriate to eat on a cold, winter day rather than a hot, muggy, Texas day, but it's so good that I didn't even care. The original recipe comes from a lady named Jane Clayson, but I modified it to fit my tastes. It's SO easy and SO delicious!

Taco Soup

Ingredients:

-1 lb hamburger*

-1 medium onion, chopped

-2 stalks celery

-4 cups stewed tomatoes**

-1 (15 oz) can kidney beans, undrained (the original recipe calls for two cans, which you are more than welcome to use!)

-1 (15 oz) can corn, drained

-1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce

-1 pkg. taco seasoning

-Cheddar cheese, grated

-Tortilla or corn chips, crushed

-Sour cream

(*any ground meat will work. My hubby is a hunter, so we have a ready supply of ground venison which is what I used.)

(**if you do any canning, I just used a large Mason jar (quart size) of canned tomatoes that I had done last year. Worked perfect.)

Directions:

-Brown the hamburger (or whatever ground meat you are using) and onions in a large pot.

-Add the celery, tomatoes, kidney beans, corn, tomato sauce, and taco seasoning.

-Simmer 30 to 40 minutes.

-Serve immediately with the chips and cheese sprinkled on top and a dollop of sour cream.

Enjoy!!

Delicious and Nutritious Chocolate Chip Cookies

Alright... for my first new bean recipe adventure I chose to make the chocolate chip cookies from our Taster's Table handout, because of all the dessert options they appeared to be the most healthy (I'm on a health kick right now). These cookies are made with 100% whole wheat flour, they have NO butter, they only use brown sugar (no white), and they have beans to boot! 

And the result? ...

... They turned out great! I keep eating them, and guess what? I feel no guilt! :) The taste is a little different from "regular" cookies, but not different in a bad way... just a different way. :) Now, granted, I'm already used to having cookies made with partial wheat flour, so if that's something you're not used to, that could be the biggest difference for you and take some getting used to. My husband says they taste like a protein bar to him. ...but that's a good thing, right??!

Well, if you'd like to try them, here is the recipe:

Chocolate Chip Cookies with Beans!

-1/2 cup cooked white beans (I used canned* Great Northern Beans)

-1 cup brown sugar

-4 eggs (if you're using your food storage eggs, this is 1/4 cup Egg Powder + 1/2 cup Water)

-1 tsp vanilla 

-2 1/4 cups wheat flour (you can use half white and half wheat if that's more to your liking)

-1 tsp baking powder

-1/2 tsp baking soda

-1/2 tsp salt

-2 cups chocolate chips (I used half milk chocolate chips and half white chocolate chips)

-1 cup pecans (or walnuts), chopped

*If using canned beans, drain and rinse them prior to beginning.

1. Beat the beans and sugar together until creamed. (I had to take a spoon and mash the beans occasionally to help them along.) Add the eggs and vanilla. Mix.

2. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

3. Add the flour mixture to the creamed mixture. (If using a mixer, do this a little at a time to avoid flour flying everywhere). Stir well until blended.

4. Stir in chocolate chips and nuts. Cover and refrigerate dough for about 1 hour.

5. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

6. Drop the dough by spoonfuls onto a greased cookie sheet. Bake 10-15 minutes depending on the size of the cookies. Helpful Hint: Do NOT over bake these! They do not turn golden brown when done, so try testing them with a light touch on top of the cookie to see if they are done or not. (They should be barely firm and will set up more as they cool.) You do not want them to get crisp or crunchy. Also, if you are baking two cookie sheets at a time, be sure to switch them from top to bottom and vice versa half way through for even baking.

Makes 4 dozen. (Unless you make them my size, in which case it will make 2 1/2 dozen) :)

So go ahead... give them a whirl! You'll never have to feel guilty about eating cookies again! :)

The Wonderful World of BEANS--Part 2

To sum up Thursday's Tasters Table in a word: Wow. Or maybe: Yum. Or Amazing. Inspirational. Life Changing. Okay, well that's two words... but seriously, it was fabulous! A special thanks goes out to Robin and the Provident Living Committee for putting that together. Who would have ever thought that beans could produce such a tasty array of food?? We had fudge (my personal favorite), brownies, chocolate chip cookies, an amazingly delicious dip, soup, a spice cake... have I forgotten anything?... all made from beans! I left the evening a converted believer in the power of beans. And of course, I woke up the next morning a truly converted believer in the REAL power of beans! :) That being said... a word to the wise: Start Slow. 

As part of the evening, we discussed some of the Pros and Cons to the world of beans.

The Pros are so numerous: Beans aid in weight loss (enough said! Where do I sign up?!) because they fill you up; reduce the risk of certain cancers (pancreas, colon, breast, prostate, and intestinal); lower bad cholesterol and increase good cholesterol (they have no cholesterol in them); lower the risk of heart disease; they are an excellent source of low-fat protein; they make a whole protein if eaten with grains, dairy, nuts or meat in same day; they lower your blood pressure by relaxing the arteries and veins; and finally they are high in B Vitamins, potassium, calcium, and magnesium. Wow.

The Cons? Gas. This one stinkin' (no pun intended) con is often a big enough deterrent to keep us from enjoying all the benefits beans have to offer. I will be the first to admit, as I mentioned before, I woke up the next morning after our activity with quite the rumbly tummy. Beans are rarely a part of my daily caloric intake, so my body did not respond positively to the sudden overload. But I'm determined to change that. And so, some of the ways we discussed to thwart the harsh effects beans can have on our digestive systems are:

1) Start slow in your conversion process. Don't just change your whole diet overnight. Allow your body some time to adjust to the effects beans will have on it, and hopefully soon your body will be able to keep up with all the beans you want! :)

2) Eat canned beans, or soak beans and pour off the water (add fresh water to cook), or pressure cook the beans.

and 3) Add Bean-O to the top of your shopping list. It is apparently quite effective. You can get it as a pill (take one before eating), or a liquid (and a drop... or a few... to your first bite). 

Or I guess there's a fourth option too...

Well, I am devoting this month to beans. For those of you who weren't able to join us, I will be trying out the recipes we received throughout the month and will post the finished results (along with the recipe) so that you can all enjoy them as well.